Coquest

Your Daily Energy Report for January 30, 2026

Posted on 2026-01-30

Crude Oil

Crude Oil futures for March settled down -$.21 or -.321% at $65.21. Oil prices dipped this Friday, positioning the commodity for its most robust monthly performance since mid-2023 as an intensifying geopolitical risk premium dominated the tape. Global energy markets remain fixated on the friction between Washington and Tehran, following an ultimatum for fresh nuclear negotiations that has placed the vital Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a significant portion of the world's crude oil and LNG, directly in the crosshairs of potential military escalation. This month’s double-digit rally has been further compounded by systemic supply shocks, including the recent "maximum pressure" campaign in Venezuela, technical force majeures in Kazakhstan, and the aftermath of historic US production freeze-offs. Despite earlier forecasts of a global supply glut, the aggressive tightening of Russian oil sanctions and the threat of kinetic action in the Persian Gulf have effectively rewritten the narrative for early 2026.

​​​​​Natural Gas

Gas futures for March settled up $.439 or 11.205% at $4.357. Natural gas prices jumped today, propelled by a sharp recovery in LNG feedgas demand and the anticipated reactivation of a liquefaction train at Freeport LNG in Texas. Daily intake at export facilities is on a four-day winning streak, rebounding toward 17.9 bcfd after plunging to a multi-year low during the height of recent winter storm disruptions. This bullish momentum successfully shrugged off a gradual recovery in Lower 48 production, which climbed to 105.7 bcfd as frozen wellheads across the Permian and Bakken finally thawed out. While January’s average output of 106.2 bcfd remains well below the record highs seen in December, the market is prioritizing the forecast for colder-than-normal weather through mid-February over immediate supply gains.
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